Competitive eating probably isn't a job for everyone. But if you love to eat — and we mean really love to eat — you won't find another pursuit where you'll get so much free food. The only problem is, of course, that you have to eat it all at once. As fast as you possibly can. Sounding less appealing? What if we told you there could be up to $40,000 at stake just for one contest [source: Wood]? Perhaps that makes things easier to swallow.

There are all different kinds of eating competitions. If a food exists, there's probably a contest to eat it — pizza, wings, pulled pork, sausage, cake or candy. By far, though, the most famous competitive eating challenge is the annual hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island, New York, held every July 4. Competitive eater Joey Chestnut can often eat about seven hot dogs in one minute, which is why he's the current reigning men's champion [source: Wood]. Surprisingly, the top competitive eaters appear trim and in good health — competitive eating isn't an everyday job, of course.